Can-filling machine



June 24, 1930.

A. E. ROE

CAN FILLING MACHINE Filed May 2, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS June 24, 1930.

A. E.: ROE

C'ANv FILLING MACHINE vFild'May 2, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lzz.

INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY.

Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFifcE ALPHEUS E. ROE, ,0FOAKLAND, (JALIIEORITIAv Application mea my 2, 192s. sriai N0. 274,480.

My invention relates to an apparatus for ll-ing containers withvmeasured yquantlties of liquid. l

The principal object of the invention 1s to f providea machine whichiscapable of automatically lling a continuously advanclng procession ofcontainers with measured quantities of liquid in the least possibletimeand without waste of liquid. 0

Other objects of the invention are toprovide an apparatus in whichevaporation losses are reduced to a minimum, to provide means foradjusting the volume of liquid supplied to each container, and toprovide means for quickly changing from one source of llquid supply toanother. Still further objects and advantages of the invention willbecome .apparent from the following specilication, which should be readwith the understanding that the form, construction and arrangement ofthe several parts of the apparatus may be varied, within the limits ofthe claims hereto appended, without departing from the spirlt of theinvention'as set forth 1n said claims.

My invention as herein described, and illustrated is especially adaptedfor filling standard five-gallon cans with such liquids as gasoline,kerosene, and oils, althou h it may readily be adapted for filling ot ervcontainers With'other liquids.

The machine comprises, broadly, a ycontinuously rotating turretstructure capable f holding a considerable number of cans, and by whichthecans are continuously advanced in a procession. The measuring andfilling instrumentalities are carried by the turret, and areautomatically operated during its circularmovement. The empty cans arebrought to the turret, and the full vcans removed therefrom, by suitableconveying means. The'cans are fed to the turret, `filled, and removedsuccessively, and the. operation may be carried -on continuously. f j Amore detailed description of the machine will now follow, with referenceto the accompanying drawings, wherein'z- Fig. 1 isr a partly broken andpartly diagrammatic plan view. l

Fig.,2 is a central vertical section.

i be described.

Fig. 3 .is an enlarged vertical sectionv through one of the-measuringchambers.

Fig. 4 is a vertical. section of the float controlled supply valve. a

Fig. 5 is a detailed front elevation, enlarged, of oneof the can-holdingchairs.

Fig. -6 is a detailed part sectional elevation, enlarged,.o'f the stemand camroller of one of the measuring chamber filling valves.

-Referring now more particularly to the drawings,.the reference numeral1 designates a continuously rotating turret structure, sup-v orted uponwheels 2. Empty cans VE are rought to the turret 1v by a conveyorindicated diagrammatically at 3, in Fig..l1, and are successively placedupon 'said turret by any suitable means not shown. vIt may be assumedfor purposes of the present description, that the cans are placed uponthe turret by an attendant. The periphery of the turret is .providedwith an annular row of chairs 4 in which the cans are placed and byWhich they are suitably positioned. Each chair 4 is vertically movableupon the turret, being slidably mounted upon a pair of guide rods v 5,lFigs. 2 and 5, and provided with a roller 6 which runs for a part of therevolution ofv the turret upon a fixed semi-circular cam, i or .track 7.This track, .which has inclined ends 7 Fig 5, is slightly elevated, sothat so the chairs 4 and theY cans resting thereupon are raised, duringa part of the revolution of the turret, for a. purpose to beexplainedlater. During the remaining portion oftherevolution of the turret thechairs 4 rest upon a 85 ring or flange 8, Fig. 2, forming part ofthebottom of the turret, a-nd are maintained at 'the level of the conveyor3. The ring 8l may be provided with gear teeth adaptedv to mesh with apinion 9, by which the turretisro- 9-0- tated. 'A second conveyor o anysuitable construction, indicated"diagrammatically at 10 in Fig.1,.receives the fullcans F vfrom the chairs 4 and carries them away.x AIiXed stripper 1'1 serves to transfer said 'full cans 95 from the chairs4 to said discharge conveyer 10. While on the continuously rotatingturret 1, the cans are filled, each with a measured volume of liquid, bymechainsm which will now The turret 1 supports, above the chairs 4,V

15. One example ofsuoli connection isVl shown in F lgs. 1 and 2 ascomprising a fieX- v ible'conduit 17 secured-to the head 15 andadaptedfor separable connection, by partially rotating said head, withany one `of a number of radially arranged pipes 18 leading fromdifferent sources of. supply.. There- V fore Wheniit is desired to fillcans with kerosene, for example, the flexible conduit 17 is connectedwith that pipe `18 leading fromthe kerosene supply reservoir, and whenit is de'- sired to fill gasoline, said conduit is moved to the gasolinesupply pipe, and so on; Suitable shut-oft valves are indicated at 19,and

blindflanges' or lcaps 18. are provided for temporarily and positivelyclosing the pipes 18 which are not in use. The hea 15 is provided with asuitable valve 20, Fig. 4, here 1ndicated as -a balanced'piston valveof'welli known form, which is operated byy a float 21 lying within thecentral .chamber 14.- The valve 20 and float 21 automatically maintainthe liquid in the chamber'14 and the annular tank 1,2 at' a. ,constantlevel, as indicated in Fic. 2.

, lepending from nular tank are a series of measuring chambers 22', onepositioned above each can chair 4. These chambers are ,preferablymade'of glass, to enable the liquid to be observed, and areclampedbetween upper and lower heads 23 and 24 and secured to the bottomof the tank lbyrods'25, as shown in Fi 3. ,Depending from the ybottom 0%each measuring chamber 22. is a discharge nozzle 26 po- Y sitioneddirectly above the filling aperture 27 fof the can positioned onthecorresponding j chair 4. The'lower end of said nozzle is rovidedwitha resilient ring 28 of'felt or similar material adapted to contactwith the top ofthe can when the latter isv raised by the verticalVmovementof its chair. Vent apertures 29 are provided between the contactringl 28 and thenozzletopermit the escape ofair from the lcan whilebeing vfilled. 'The nozzle 26 is in the form of a sleeve and is slidablevertically upon atube 3() secured to the lower head `24of themeasuring'chamber. A

-valve, 31 is iprovided in said tube for opening and closing the outletof the measuring chamber, and said valve is lconnected with the shdablenozzle 26 by a rod or stem32, sothat vthebottomv of said an! it isopened and closed 'by the vertical movement of the can. The verticalposition of the chair 4 as it passes the conveyer 3 is such that theempty can E will slide freely beneath the nozzle 2G. YThe subsequentelevation of said chair and the can, as described above, causes thelower end of the nozzle to enter the filling aperture. 27 offthecan,.a1nd then opens the valve 31 by the movement of said nozzle, thusvallowing the liquid to flow from the measur- -ing chamber 22 into thecan.`

The can is not lowered until sufficient time vhas elapsed for all theliquid to flow out of the chamber 22. In order to adjust .thevolumetriccapacityof said chamber, the tube 30 is adapted to be raisedor lowered, preferably by being screwed into the lower head 24', asshown at 33 in Figl 3. Thus, if the tube 30 is elevated to projectintothe chamber, the volume of liquid dischargedtherefrom will bereduced. Suitable marks, not shown, may be placed. upon the tube 30' toindicate its position in terms ofy the effective volumetric capacity of'the chamber. l

A. valve 34, Fig. 3, is placed 'in the upper head 23 of eachmeasuringchamber to open and close communication between the annulartank 12 and said chamber. This valve is voperated by a stem 35 whichextends upwardly and has a roller 36, Figs. 2, and 6,-

following a fixed cam track 37 mounted above the tank upon brackets38and provided with downwardly inclined ends, 374. The Vvalve stem 35 hasa central bore terminating ina lateral aperture 39 positioned above thelevel of the liquid in the tank, thus providing a vent for the escape ofair from the measuring chamber 22 into said tank while said. chamberVVis being filled. The tank is provided with a cover 40 to preventevaporation, and by vent--v ing the chambers 22 into said tank insteadof into the atmosphere, evaporation losses are still further reduced.The cam track 37, as shown in Fig. a 1, extends a proximately throughthe second half of the circular travel of the turret 1. Therefore, afterany given cha-ir 4 islowered by its roller 6 passingot the vrear end ofthe track 7, so that the discharge valve 31 is closed, the filling valve34 is opened, by the Contact of its roller 36 with the track 37,allowing the liquid to flow from the tank 12 into the measuring chamber22 until the latter is full. The valve 34 is again closed before thedischarge valve 31`opens.

yThus during approximately the first half of the revolution of theturret, the cans are being filled from the measuring chambers, andduring the second half of said revolution the measuring chambers arebeing filled from the annular tank 12. Y

Certain advantages of my invention will now be pointed out in the lightofthe preceding description. Since the valves 31 are opened by the cansE, there is no possibility of a valve being opened when there is no lfd.-

can beneath its discharge nozzle. 'reason a can is.l not placed upon achair 4, the corresponding discharge valve 31 w1ll not be opened,v andno liquid will be lost. The subsequent opening of the filling valve 34will have no effect, since' the measuring` chamber is already full. Onaccount of the construction and relatively small ca acity of the supplytank 12, it .can be quick y and completely emptied,v when changing fromone liquid to another, after its su ply is cut' oi at one of the valves19.l Tl):

. chambers 22 being filled successively, it fol- The operation ofthecans remain beneath the nozzles for er mounted thereon; a

" l'. tion means for conducting -and venting the measuring cham lowsthat each, and consequently each can,

will be completely filled until the tank 12 is very nearlyempty. lTherewill thus be only one, or at Amost a very few cans which If for any emeasuring' receive a partial charge at the end of a run.

machineis speedy, continuous, and automatic excepty for the lacing ofthecans upon the chairs. And fina ly, tle a su icient length of time toinsure ythe recovery of any dripv that may occur after the dischargevalves are closed, so that there is no waste of liquid. The reduction ofevaporation losses to a minimum by covering the sup ly tank 12 ersthereinto has already been mentioned.

1. A can filling machine comprising a rotating turret; a verticallymovable can holdcarried by saidturret; a vertically adjustable outletconnection extending through the bottom of said receptacle; a valve insaid conneciiuid from said I j connection. to lthe can upon saidholder;'and

means for operating said valve by the vertical movement of sald can. 2.A can filling machine comprising a rotating turret; a reservoir carriedthereby;

i means for filling a can j' j valve head positioned v said reservoir,

1 with said exi from said reservoir; a centrally above said reservoir; aconnection between said-head and adapting them for indendent rotativeKmovement; a valve in said ead;1a Hoa-t in said reservoir adapted to op-.erate said valve; with said head;

a exible conduit connected ply pipes ada ted forv separ e connectionleconduit. l

3:. A can llng machine com rising a rotating turret; a reservoir carriedmeans for filling a can from said reservoir; a va1ve head positionedcentrally above said reservoir, a connection between said head and saidreservoir, ent rotative movement; a valve in said head; a float 1n saidreservoir adapted to operate sa1d valve a pluralit of fluid supplyconnections disposed radially aboutl said head and a conduitcommunicating with said head and adapted for separable attachment withsald supply'nonnectlons..

measuring receptacle and a plurality of fluid supl thereby;

adapting them for independsuspended -below said, i A

